Drones

Fifth in a series. Two Obama officials, essentially alone among their colleagues, publicly acknowledged serious structural problems with U.S. airstrike policies. But even they stopped short of calling for congressional action.

Fourth in a series. The fact that Donald Trump can unilaterally, extra-judicially, and in complete secrecy send drones to kill people abroad who pose no immediate risk to anyone is the single clearest example of the extreme and excessive expansion of executive power in the United States.

Third in a series: Despite Donald Trump’s authoritarian tendencies and impulsive personality, there’s been remarkably little public concern about his possible abuse of his great powers as Commander in Chief. That’s likely because there has been, at least in theory, at least one “adult” in the way: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

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Second in a series: Since taking office, Donald Trump has loosened or eliminated many of the self-imposed constraints that Barack Obama instituted to manage the process of sentencing people to death from the air.